Is Brad Boimler an Insufferable Genius or a Know-Nothing Know-It-All? Is he a character meant to be like Wesley Crusher or Reginald Barclay, or a budding superior officer? Is he a complete incompetent or just inexperienced? Also, how capable is he of the independent thinking required of a command officer? Season 2 and onwards argue the latter, as Boimler repeatedly steps up to take charge and solve problems requiring quick thinking, bravery, and self-sacrifice, excellent command traits. In addition, The Spy Humongous shows that he does understand the traits a Captain needs.
Is Beckett Mariner an Insufferable Genius and The Ace, or is she a rule-breaker who is obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious? Does her treatment of Boimler move into the realm of bullying, or is she just trying to help him out of his shell? Both?The late-first season episodes "Much Ado about Boimler" and "Crisis Point" reveal that she does break rules and act out to hide from herself and keep Starfleet from pushing her into more responsibility.
Does Mariner even like being in Starfleet, or is she just using it as a crutch to avoid dealing with the outside universe? Having been obviously raised inside of the service, she might simply have no idea who she is without it. As of Season 3's finale, both interpretations seem to be true. After a 10-Minute Retirement, Mariner admits that she enjoys being part of something larger than herself, but also that she needed to resign and find herself before she could appreciate how much it meant to her.
Beckett's and Boimler's Bully and Wimp Pairing relationship is another topic of debate. Just when Boimler finally seems to accept (some might say resign himself to) serving aboard the Cerritos with Mariner for the indefinite future, his promotion finally comes through, which he eagerly accepts. The next scene shows that he has ghosted her and she is furious about it, harassing him with constant calls and threatening him with bodily harm. By Season 2, the show and the characters have grown out of this dynamic, with Boimler having Taken Enough Levels In Badass to keep up with Mariner, sparing fans of the show from having to debate the matter any further.
Is Captain Freeman a Reasonable Authority Figure who just expects the best from her crew of slackers or a Pointy-Haired Boss who treats her daughter as The Un-Favourite? Is she motivated by Starfleet ideals or a sense of Dude, Where's My Respect?? By the time of "Trusted Sources", it seems that she is a Pointy-Haired Boss motivated by a sense of Dude, Where's My Respect? as she gets so blinded by rage at the mere thought of Mariner possibly derailing the interviews that she transfers her to Starbase 80 and practically disowns her, even though it turns out that Mariner spoke nothing but praise for Cerritos.
Is Ensign Tendi The Pollyanna capable who only sees the silver lining of any situation, no matter how bad it seems like she's going to take it? Or is she a Stepford Smiler who refuses to acknowledge bad news and spins everything to be a positive rather than be forced to deal with her negative emotions. 'We'll Always Have Tom Paris' does have her conceding she does have bit of a people-pleaser problem.
Whether or not the captain of the Sh'vhal intends T'Lyn's transfer as a punishment or not. It could be that he's just trying to get a problem out of his hair because she continues to be insubordinate (by Vulcan standards), or he could genuinely have T'Lyn's best interests in mind by allowing her to continue her spacefaring career in a place where her intuitive approach will be rewarded and not disruptive. Or both.
The women on the Boimler vineyard, are they truly into Boimler and he's just Oblivious to Love, or are they trying to get him because it's his family's vineyard and they're just gold diggers? Given the comedic nature of the show, it's likely the former. However, a line in "Crisis Point II", where a depressed Boimler states he should've never joined Starfleet and should've married one of the vineyard girls, may instead imply that he was intentionally ignoring their advances because of the Sudden Downer Ending from season 2.
Tendi says not all Orion females have pheromones, but doesn't elaborate. She seems uncomfortable with the subject. Is this possibly a hint that she's transgender? The fact that "Something Borrowed, Something Green" has a character state that Tendi can't produce pheromones only added to this.
It could also be interpreted as her being disabled by Orion standards.
